


The Higher We Go, The Further We Fall

by Angelic Shock (JustJanus)



Category: Polygon/McElroy Vlogs & Podcasts RPF
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I guess this counts as angst maybe idk, It's kinda sad, Love, angel au, but then it's happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 17:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15272682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustJanus/pseuds/Angelic%20Shock
Summary: Angel!Patrick may not be able to take you flying yet, but he can still share his memories of flight with you.





	The Higher We Go, The Further We Fall

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be very angsty but it isn't super duper sad? And it's pretty short

The first time you saw Pat sitting in front of a fan was before he told you he was an angel and revealed his wings to you. He’d laughed along with your teasing but had offered no explanation for his behaviour, leaving you more confused afterwards than you had been before. You’d assumed he just liked the feeling of it blowing his hair back away from his face; a substitute for real wind.

At least you were partially correct.

Tonight you found him on the rooftop - his new usual spot in replacement of the fan. It was dark out, the streetlamps only faintly illuminating the roof. He stood against the edge of the roof, hands resting on the rim of it that went up to his chest. You watched in awe as he spread his wings wide and the wind blew through his feathers.

The golden light of his feathers dimmed and you began to tip toe over to him quietly, still watching as each feather darkened. They shifted from gold to grey to black, each feather transforming - a gradient of colour shifting from where his wings met his back to the tip of each wing.

Beautiful.

He pulled his wing back as you walked next to him, wrapping it around your shoulders and pulling you in closer to him. His hand reached for yours and you held it tightly, resting your head on his shoulder.

“It’s my fault you’re stuck here.” you whispered.

You felt more than heard him laugh sadly and shake his head.

“Worth it.” he replied, kissing the top of your head.

“What was flying like?” you asked, you’d avoided the question in the past, not wanting him to feel horrible about his lack of flight but this time curiosity got the better of you.

He stiffened beside you and was quiet for a moment. After a few seconds he shifted and turned to face you.

“I can show you.”

You tilted your head in confusion but before you could open your mouth to ask for clarification, he placed his fingers against your temples and his eyes glowed golden before your vision went white. When the light faded you found yourself standing on what appeared to be white marble flooring above clouds. You panicked, unable to move your body.

“Ready to fly for the first time, Pat?” a voice spoke from next to you and you involuntarily turned your head to them, realising that you were experiencing his memories.

And then you were in the air, plummeting down before you felt your wings spread out wide and you turned sharply, flapping them hard once and flying back up again. The wind held you up, air blowing between your feathers. There was a joy that bubbled up inside you, a happiness from that first feeling of flight, and you knew that this was how Pat had felt.

Then the scene shifted and you felt yourself falling backwards, wings spread out as far as they could go. You twisted your body in the air, spinning until you were shooting back up and around in a circle with all the experience of an angel who had been flying for years. The wind blew your hair out of your face as you hovered above the clouds, wings flapping almost effortlessly to keep you in the air.

Down below you could see Earth, peeking out from between gaps in the clouds. There was power running through your veins like electricity, the energy buzzing through you as you flapped your wings and began flying again. No aim, no purpose. Just flying around because you could.

There was a freedom to it, a feeling like no other. The wind blowing against each feather and through your hair. The ecstasy of being able to control the speed you flew at, bulleting through the air with your arms by your side and then gliding around, the sun on your face.

The skies darkened and thunder boomed around you, followed closely by streaks of lightning that you swerved to dodge. Then you were falling, losing control of your flight. Strong arms caught you, kept you in the air.

“C’mon, Pat, you know you’re not supposed to fly during a storm.” a familiar voice, family, laughed, holding you steady before they flew off back to safety.

The adrenaline still raced through you and the excitement pushed you onwards through the clouds. Raindrops flying off you as you spun, beautiful wings spread out wild and flapping against the strong winds.

The scene changed again and you blinked a few times, swerving in the air to avoid crashing into a skyscraper. You were on Earth. High enough where no one on the ground could see you but cloaking yourself in your magic just in case. You felt large, powerful, untouchable. Everyone looked like specks of dust on the ground far below you. You told yourself you wouldn’t come to Earth often.

You were wrong.

The next memory was pain. You were falling backwards down from your home. You took one last look at everything you knew as you fell down, knowing that the choice was permanent. You took a deep breath and flipped yourself over, flying down instead of falling, refusing to look back over your shoulder. This was going to be the last time you could fly, you wanted to remember it. You felt each feather blown back by the wind, the weight of your wings lifted by the pressure.

Then there was a golden light.

You stumbled backwards as Pat pulled his fingers away, your sight still filled with light. He gripped your hands tightly in his as you blinked until you were able to see again. You stared up at him, untangling the fingers of one of your hands from his and shakily lifting it up to cup his cheek. Silent tears rolled down his face and you could feel his other hand still in yours shaking.

“Pat…” you started, unsure of what you could say to help.

“I’d still choose you, any day.” He replied, eyes closed. His rested his hand over yours against his cheek, turning his head to kiss your palm. “It was worth it.”

“If I get my flight back, I’ll take you flying.” He whispered, opening his eyes and grinning up at you.

“ _When_ you get your flight back.” You corrected, smiling back at him, “That was amazing… Thank you for trusting me with your memories like that.”

He stepped forward and placed his hand on the back of your head, holding you still as he bent forward to press a kiss to your forehead. Angelic energy flowed from him through his lips to you, a small fraction of his true power but still ethereal. The buzz of power spread and concentrated in two areas on your back before it dissipated, reminding you of how having wings had felt. The intense marathon of memories that you’d just experienced still rushed through your mind as you tried to hold onto the feeling of freedom Pat had shared with you.

“It was definitely worth it?” you asked, “why would you choose to lose your flight?”

“Love.” he answered, “I love you more than the heaven and stars I came from.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a lyric from Tightrope by The Score  
> 


End file.
